Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it releases its first guidance on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable outlook, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, via strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the drug, as their normal hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
